Hello again, as always thanks for reading. After some really good advice I have went back through and did some editing to the 3 chapters that I posted so far. So I'm resubmitting the updated chapters. I'm also working on Ch. 4 and that should be up sometime this morning.
Please continue to review! =)
Chapter 1
"RING RING RING"
"Go away, I don't want to talk to you" Spencer yells at whoever is calling her phone from the shower. Her phone stops ringing "Thank you" she say out loud as if they can hear her.
"RING RING RING"
She growls as she closes her eyes attempting to ignore the ringing phone. Standing under the hot water trying to relax her tense muscles as the hot water beats down on her back. The phone goes quiet again; she prays that whoever is calling her will get the hint and quit calling. Just as she starts getting hopeful that they gave up the damn phone rings.
"RING RING RING"
She again tries to ignore it, but now her conscience is telling her that whoever is blowing up her phone may have an emergency. Spencer jumps out of the shower, grabs her towel and runs for the phone not bothering to dry off, she turns the corner and BAM her ass hits the floor.
"Whoever is blowing up my phone better be on their death-bed." she mumbles to herself as she picks herself up off the floor and grabs the phone off the table answering without bothering to check the caller ID.
"This better be good" she growls into the phone, trying to catch her breath.
Silence
"Listen whoever is there better speak up now" she says through gritted teeth.
"Spencer? Why aren't you answering your phone and why do you sound out of breath?" the voice on the other end of her phone is her best friend, Madison, who is now at the top of her shit list.
"Cause I have a hot date in the shower and you are interrupting!"
"You have someone in your shower?" Madison whispers as if someone were here they would be able to hear her.
"NO Maddy, I'm trying to take a shower. Why are you blowing up my phone?"
"Oh I wanted to call and tell you about the softball tournament starting tomorrow. A bunch of girls from work are playing and I'm going to watch and cheer."
"You are blowing up my phone because why?"
"Well because you should come."
Spencer contemplates smashing her head against the wall.
"You are blowing up my phone to invite me to a softball game, Maddy you could have left a message or sent a text."
"Well yea, but then you would have just pretended to not get my message and not come."
"Well funny thing is I'm not going anyway."
"Why not!" Maddy says in a tone that she recognizes as her stubborn, I'm not taking anything but a yes voice.
Spencer shakes her head knowing that the only way to get back to her shower is to give Maddy the answer she wants she can make up an excuse and cancel later.
"Fine I will go to the game. What time does it start?"
"Starts at 4, see you then, love you" Maddy hangs up the phone afraid she will change her mind.
She heads back to her shower, drops her towel, and steps into the water without testing it first. "FUCK!" She screams and jumps back out. In her haste to answer the phone she forgot to turn the water off so now the water is ice-cold. "Yep Maddy is number one on my shit list."
She heads to the bedroom to get dressed, as she walks into her room, she glances at the mirror noticing the scars that cover her torso and back. Spencer avoids mirrors, so this takes her by surprise and she is six years old again.
21 years ago; age 6
Spencer heard the door open and lies as still as possible. "Spencer" her name being slurred, she does not move, frozen by fear. Hoping that tonight she believes she is asleep. Having watched her mother start drinking at noon today she knows that if Mother finds out she is awake, the consequences will not be good.
She hears her footsteps stumble across her bedroom floor; she is glad that she had made sure everything was off the floor before going to bed. Having her trip on a toy left on the floor would always end badly, no matter if she was awake or asleep.
Mother is now beside her bed, glaring down at her. She steadies her breathing, not moving a muscle, making sure her eyes stay close. She kneels down, her face next to the girl lying in bed. "Spencer" she slurs again, her breath blows against Spencer's face. The smell makes her flitch, "Please don't let her see that" she prays. She growls, she knows she has seen it.
"You have been a bad girl; you did not fall asleep when I told you to." She slurs.
Spencer doesn't bother apologizing that just makes it worst. She prepares herself for whatever "game" she has planned for tonight.
"What happens to bad girls" she slurs again.
She remains quiet.
"ANSWER ME GIRL" she yells.
"They get punished" she responds, not letting the fear she is feeling reflected in her voice. That is what mother wants.
Mother grabs Spencer and pulls her out of bed, shaking her as she slurs "That's right, now it's time to punish you for being a bad girl" as she pulls out her favorite toy Spencer wept.
Her favorite toy is a broken broom handle, her favorite game is to have Spencer walk back and forth in front of her, and every time she passes her she smacks her with the stick. This goes on until Spencer is unable to stand anymore.
After about 8 whacks she no longer feels the stick hitting her skin.
She snaps out of the flashback, shaking her head to clear the images from her mind. She walks into the closet to get dressed with a sigh. "When will the images no longer sneak up on me?" Most days she can go an entire day and not have a flashback until something will happen that will bring them to the surface. The scars on her body a constant reminder of all the games Mother and Spencer use to play.
She is sitting on her couch with a cup of hot chocolate, staring at the book lying in her lap not yet focusing on the words. Another Friday night spent home alone, with only herself to blame. At twenty-seven, she has not had many relationships ah hell she hasn't had any "well except one" she says out loud to no one. That ended with her being heartbroken and her trust being broke again.
Most of her relationships if you can even call them that are one night stands. Someone she picked up from the bar, always going to their place, and gone before they're awake.
"Shit I don't even remember their names"
When they acquire about the scars, if they happen to see them, which isn't often due to her either not removing all her clothes or the lights stay off or they are too intoxicated to notice. If they by chance notice she can distract them.
That game got old, never leaving her satisfied. It wasn't worth the energy it took. So it's been a few years since she's been with anyone.
Madison doesn't know about her past, she would ask a lot. Until on one bad day, she blew up on her telling her to mind her own business. Then she didn't speak to her for days. Maddy apologized and has never asked again. After that their friendship changed, she is still Spencer's best friend only now she doesn't ask her to do things as often. She was surprised when Maddy called to ask her to go to the baseball game. Not that she is planning to go.
After attempting and failing to focus on her book, she gives up and head upstairs to go to bed. Glancing at the clock on the wall it is 8:30 "pathetic."
Spencer climbs in bed dressed in her pajamas. She had tried sleeping nude before and spent the night panicking. She doesn't even try. Just as she is dozing off, she hears her phone beep signaling a text message. She wants to ignore it, but knows her phone will continue to beep until she acknowledges the text. Rolling over she unlocks her phone seeing a text from Maddy.
"Hi, what are you doing?"
"Sleeping"
"It's 8:30 on a Friday."
She rolls her eyes while responding "Thank you Captain Obvious."
"Girl you need a social life."
Not wanting to get into this conversation, she ignores her statement.
"Maddy is there something you need?"
She can picture her best friend fighting the urge to push the fact that her social life is in need of regeneration. "No. I just wanted to say Hi, and that I'm excited to see you tomorrow." She says to Spencer's surprise.
Shit well now is a good time to cancel, just as she is about to respond with her excuse, Maddy sends another text.
"Don't even think of cancelling, I haven't seen you in weeks, you promised. It won't kill you to watch a softball game with me."
She deletes what she had started to type, she shakes her head as she types out "See you tomorrow." Along with a smiley face and hit the send button. Well she committed now, she thinks with anything but a smile on her face.